Importing Grades Into a Course

Certain scenarios may require importing grades into a course. These situations typically occur when all students are not visible in the gradebook or when grades need to be uploaded from Vector Reports, such as those used in IDS 1100 courses.

Creating a backup copy of the CSV file generated in the following steps is recommended. When updating an existing grade item, this backup can serve as a reference if errors occur.

1. Click Grades in the course navbar and select the Manage Grades tab.
2. If importing specialized reports like Vector Reports, you'll first need to create a grade item. Click the New button, then choose Item to configure the gradebook entry with your preferred settings. For instance, you might create an item called "Sample Import Item" in the gradebook.
   
3. From the “Grades” page of the course, click the Enter Grades tab. Next, click the Export button to generate a CSV.
   
4. Configure the CSV file to specify the grade item or items you intend to update. For the “Key Field” option, it is recommended to select Both to include both the student ID number and username. Under “Grade Values,” select the Points Grade option. In the “User Detail” section, select all available fields for easier student identification. 
   
5. In the "Choose Grades to Export" section, find the grade item you want to add or modify, then click the Export to CSV button. Be sure to use the "Export to CSV" option instead of "Export to Excel" since XLSX file imports are currently unsupported.
   
6. After initiating the export, a progress page appears, indicating when the CSV file is ready for download. Click the Download button to retrieve the file. It is recommended to save a second copy for backup purposes, particularly when updating an existing graded item.
   
7. Open the CSV file, and find the column with the header name that matches the grade item you want to update. Enter each student's point total, leaving cells blank for students whose grades should not change, such as the user "tspartan01" in the example below. Only modify the specific grade item column you are updating—modifying other columns will cause the import to fail.
   
8. After updating the grade item(s) with point values, save the CSV file.
9. Next, navigate to the Enter Grades tab within the gradebook, select the Import button, and then click the Choose File button on the subsequent "Import Grades" page to initiate the file selection process.
   
10. Upload the CSV file.
11. Leave "Item Creation" unselected since the gradebook item was already created during step one. Click Continue.
    
12. The next page displays potential errors and warnings. If you only point values were updated for an existing assignment, no errors should occur.
    
13. The next page displays a summary of the import changes for final review before proceeding. (Compare the images from step 7 image and step 13—they match, though the user, tspartan01, does not appear below since their grade is not changing). After verifying that the import preview matches the intended updates, click the Import button.
    
14. Once the import completes, you will be directed to the "Enter Grades" page within the gradebook.
    
15. The grades are successfully imported into the course.